Pundit Colin Watt has urged Celtic to use Leigh Griffiths more often in the club’s first-team.
Watt appeared on the latest episode of the ‘A Celtic State of Mind’ podcast and the panel discussed multiple issues involving the Bhoys. One topic of discussion was Griffiths and Watt feels that the striker looked fit in his appearances for Scotland and because of that, Neil Lennon should be using him more.
Griffiths, 30, came on in extra time in Scotland’s game against Serbia. He also made appearances against Israel and Slovakia in the UEFA Nations League too (as per Transfermarkt). He has played only 57 minutes of Premiership football for Celtic this season.
Should Griffiths play more often for Celtic?
Yes
No
Watt believes that Griffiths, who is now valued at £1.8 million (as per Transfermarkt), is now up to the standard of playing and if he’s in the sort of form that he is, he has to play more.
He said: “I mean, certainly in these short appearances that he’s had for Scotland, he’s certainly looked fit. He’s looked as if he’s caught up with the pace of the game. He was very unlucky against Slovakia at the weekend, stood up and scored a penalty against Serbia last week when the weight of the world was probably on him, it was such an important game.
“And to me, I think if you’ve got him on this kind of form, you’ve got to play him. Because we’ve got him to the standard that we know Leigh Griffiths can get to. So let’s make the most of that; let’s start seeing the benefit for Celtic of that.”
TIF Thoughts on Watt’s comments regarding Griffiths…
While Griffiths has played only 57 minutes of football in the league, he has already scored twice in three Premiership appearances. He’s already scored once in the group stages of the Europa League too (as per Transfermarkt). The striker even scored in the penalty shootout for Scotland against Serbia.
This might suggest that he is indeed doing well in the goalscoring department. Having said that, he couldn’t even play 45 minutes in a single game for Scotland in the international break and it shows that he’s not exactly up to speed yet. Because of that, it is understandable why Lennon hasn’t really used him too much so far this season.